Chapter 45: The Two Sides Forced into a Decisive Battle
Sakumo frowned, silently contemplating the order from the Third Hokage to launch a fierce assault.
Nara Shikayama softly reassured him, "According to intelligence, the battle at Amegakure isn't going well either, and Lord Hokage is extremely anxious. His decision to put this burden on us is a sign of his trust in you."
Recalling the complaints of the wounded soldiers, Sakumo shook his head and said, "The current problem is, with our current morale, is this a battle for survival or death?"
Shikayama's face stiffened. As a smart member of the Nara clan, he had long noticed this issue.
But what could he do about it?
Sakumo looked at the battle map in front of him, silently polishing the blade of "White Fang."
The Hatake family had its roots in the Land of Iron. Before the Warring States period, the Hatake clan were all samurai, gradually evolving into a ninja clan.
Sakumo's thoughts drifted back to his days growing up in Konoha. From narrowly escaping his clan's massacre, joining Konoha as a war orphan, being fortunate enough to receive education at the ninja academy thanks to Tobirama-sama, joining the ANBU, rising through brutal battles, and finally becoming a battlefield commander.
Konoha had been kind to him, and in his heart, he felt a deep sense of duty and obligation to Konoha.
This man, who appeared to be a ninja but was a samurai at heart, was already prepared to repay Konoha with his life.
For a samurai, the most important thing was to bear and fulfill responsibilities, with death being merely a means to fulfill them.
Failing to complete one's duties was considered far worse than death.
Sakumo closed his eyes, adjusting his state of mind, and said calmly, "No need to think further, Shikayama."
"We will launch a full-scale attack at dawn tomorrow. I will lead the charge, ready to die if necessary."
Shikayama looked at Sakumo with a complicated gaze, sighed heavily, and turned to organize the assault plan.
.........
In the main Sand Ninja camp.
Chiyo, Ebizō, and two young Sand Ninja jōnin were discussing the battle reports in a relaxed atmosphere.
"Hi, Kumo, you did an excellent job countering Konoha's counterattack last time," Chiyo said lovingly to the young pair, who were her son and daughter-in-law, and also the parents of "Sasori."
Kumo had beautiful long black hair and a gentle demeanor.
He had striking red hair and a handsome, sunny appearance, much like Sasori.
Both were talented puppet masters of the new generation in Sunagakure, performing exceptionally well in this war.
Ebizō also looked at them with gentle eyes, proud of these younger Sand Ninjas and the future of Sunagakure.
This war against Konoha had gone more smoothly than predicted.
"However, we cannot be complacent. Now is the most intense period of the battlefield, and we must remain vigilant against Konoha's counterattacks," Ebizō added cautiously.
His cautious nature kept him from being carried away by temporary victories; he never underestimated Konoha.
"Well, Konoha's ninjas aren't that impressive. They're far worse than the records in the classics," Kumo said nonchalantly.
Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged a glance, a trace of doubt in their eyes.
"Konoha's ninjas have indeed declined significantly compared to the last war. Their combat strength doesn't match the ANBU reports," they thought, trying to rationalize it as a result of Konoha's prosperity leading to complacency.
Chiyo smiled at her confident son.
With her backing them, there shouldn't be any problems, right?
"Chiyo-sama, there's a message from the Kazekage-sama!"
The brief moment of warmth was interrupted by a dusty, blood-stained Sand Ninja ANBU knocking on the camp door.
Chiyo took the order and read it carefully, while Ebizō questioned the messenger.
"What happened? Didn't Konoha's roaming forces have settled at the border? Which Konoha unit ambushed you?"
The ANBU messenger looked terrified, recounting his bizarre and dreadful encounter.
"It wasn't the Uchiha unit led by the Konoha demon, but a strange Konoha three-man team."
"The leader was a very young, blond Konoha ninja with an extremely advanced Shunshin technique. They wiped out the second and third intelligence squads. Only Yezō and I escaped."
Ebizō's eyes narrowed, alarmed.
"Wiping out nearly three squads... to that extent. Just as Konoha shows signs of decay, another genius emerges."
"Describe this Konoha team in detail—their appearances and combat styles!"
The ANBU lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "They are between 12 and 15 years old. The main attacker is the blond Konoha ninja, who uses a strange Shunshin technique to approach, attacks with a large number of explosive tags, and then retreats instantly."
Seeing Ebizō's puzzled expression, he quickly added, "His Shunshin technique is so advanced we couldn't see his afterimage. The red-haired Konoha kunoichi seems to have a wide-range sensing ability. No matter how we hid, they could always find us."
Ebizō waved him off to rest and pondered deeply.
"An afterimage-less Shunshin technique... could it be the Flying Thunder God Technique resurfacing?"
"A red-haired sensing ninja... must be an Uzumaki orphan who sought refuge in Konoha. A troublesome combination."
"And using a large number of explosive tags... Konoha ninjas are truly extravagant."
Ebizō thought of countermeasures. Such a genius team had to be eliminated promptly!
Before he could decide on a plan to hunt down this team, Chiyo's heavy thump on the table broke his thoughts.
Chiyo waved the Kazekage's order, her face darkened. "The daimyo is pressuring the Third Kazekage to produce results quickly. If this drags on, the taxes from the Land of Wind will be unsustainable."
Ebizō's face turned grim. It seemed the rot wasn't confined to Konoha; their homeland wasn't much better.
He could only sigh inwardly. How could this country be well-governed with these parasites?
"Since that's the case, we can only obey orders. Let's plan the operations."
After some thought, he added, "Order the remaining five intelligence squads, with Rasa and Pakura, to hunt down this Konoha team."
In times of great battles, every precious jōnin was needed for the decisive fight. There simply weren't enough resources to spare for dealing with Minato and his team.
"Let's hope we can eliminate these new Konoha talents... sigh."
In the original timeline, the Land of Wind was deeply affected by the daimyo's constraints.
During Rasa's tenure, the daimyo further reduced funding for Sunagakure, forcing him to spend a lot of time mining in the desert to keep Sunagakure's finances from collapsing.
Due to different external pressures, both Konoha and Sunagakure's forces were swiftly organized.
A forced battle was imminent!
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